Plug In Guru Unify

[tony10000]

But I don't really see this in the same light as Metaplugin, Bidule or Element

I don't see this as any sort of general-purpose competitor for Bidule or Patchwork. Compared to those, sure, it's out-classed. But it's NOT compared to those, which are aimed at allowing users to do whatever they want.

Well, John does make comparisons to those plugins on his site Perhaps he'd be better off not mentioning them at all, seeing as he is really aiming at something different i.e A preset-sharing platform.

I'd agree… It does seem more confusing than helpful to compare this to anything else out there right up front considering what its main purpose is, which is quite unique when taken altogether.

He said he is not trying to compete with anyone else but I think it is fair to point out features that are not available anywhere else.

[David]

But I don't really see this in the same light as Metaplugin, Bidule or Element

I don't see this as any sort of general-purpose competitor for Bidule or Patchwork. Compared to those, sure, it's out-classed. But it's NOT compared to those, which are aimed at allowing users to do whatever they want.

Well, John does make comparisons to those plugins on his site Perhaps he'd be better off not mentioning them at all, seeing as he is really aiming at something different i.e A preset-sharing platform.

I'd agree… It does seem more confusing than helpful to compare this to anything else out there right up front considering what its main purpose is, which is quite unique when taken altogether.

He said he is not trying to compete with anyone else but I think it is fair to point out features that are not available anywhere else.

Ditto, certainly!

IMO, the best feature is simply John himself, the way he runs his business, relates to his customers, devotes himself to weekly livestreams, frequently makes preset-building intro-offers for new libraries, on and on…

AFAI'm concerned, it'll be just as interesting, if not even more so, to see where Unify takes him (and us his fans) as it's already been following him over the last few years of what looks like ever-increasing and well-deserved success.

[Tj Shredder]

I'll start by saying that this plug-in primarily built for me to continue my sound design adventure that started in 2009.

That makes totally sense. Its a platform for sound design and creating libraries. The description of that platform pretty much describes what I can do in Bitwig. But if I would want to create sound libraries for distribution that would not help...
I always thought VIP would be the same idea, but I never got my head around it. Way too complicated. Then there is NKS, but that is too much NI centric and doesn‘t look too promising either. I have Elements, but rarely load it. You could do interesting stuff, but beside loading AU plugins there is not much benefit compared to what I can do in Bitwig directly...
All these solutions just add a layer you don‘t want to see... I think there is potential if its capable to hide those extra layers...

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

But I don't really see this in the same light as Metaplugin, Bidule or Element

I don't see this as any sort of general-purpose competitor for Bidule or Patchwork. Compared to those, sure, it's out-classed. But it's NOT compared to those, which are aimed at allowing users to do whatever they want.

Well, John does make comparisons to those plugins on his site Perhaps he'd be better off not mentioning them at all, seeing as he is really aiming at something different i.e A preset-sharing platform.

I'd agree… It does seem more confusing than helpful to compare this to anything else out there right up front considering what its main purpose is, which is quite unique when taken altogether.

He said he is not trying to compete with anyone else but I think it is fair to point out features that are not available anywhere else.

Then it's also fair to point out which features are missing

Of the features you listed on the previous page, I only found one of interest, and that seemed unique amongst other hosting platforms. Other platforms also act as wrappers, and allow bridging of 32-bit plugins

As for speed of loading plugins? Well, once you add the extra layer of abstraction i.e having to load Unify, I doubt there are any time savings to be had.

And John wants to count plugins being stacked in linear fashion as an advantage, well I disagree. It's not an advantage...it's a preference. I much prefer the idea of a blank slate upon which I can place and cable in any manner i desire, but i wouldn't suggest that is 'better'. If linear works for you, then that is better for you.

Just to clarify, once again: I don't think this is a bad concept, it just isn't for me. And now that John has made his intentions clear, it makes sense. Had he not thought to compare it to other types of plugins, which David agreed leave Unify "out-classed" there might not have been any need for the confusion. Ultimately, they are apples and oranges comparisons for plugins that have completely different reasons to exist. I just don't think it will serve him to make the comparisons. But hey! It ain't my baby

[David]

"which David agreed leave Unify "out-classed" "

Early days yet! John repeatedly mentions big plans and exciting dreams for where he's seeing this go… For example somebody mentioned "KARMA…?" in the recent livestream, and J took it right up; he and Stephen Kay are "old friends" and have apparently already talked about K and U and the future. John's got deep connections in this realm; distribution by Ilio was mentioned, etc. I keep thinking VCV hosting would be a great way to add modulations… There's truly a sense of community around John's work and how he shares it, etc. A good brew:)

It doesn't make any sense to me to start tallying up feature lists, comparison shopping, and picking sides at this stage re Unify. We've all always got our ears to the ground about new plugins, DAW versions, and new computers/music/synths concepts, and for me this is simply a particularly fascinating current example, no doubt as much because I'm already a whatever-he's-doing fan of John's as because I can already picture Unify as currently described being personally useful. On the radar, watching closely—one of the best parts of this whole game, IMO!

[Gamma-UT]

If it works like Kore, I think it's got real potential. I suspect it's the kind of platform that will live or die based on the less obvious functions, like patch databases (which will be useful for the kind of media composer John focuses on these days) and MIDI transformer tools. As it involves a whole lot of stacking, it's probably going to suit the world of one-finger underscore more than anything.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

"which David agreed leave Unify "out-classed" "

Early days yet! John repeatedly mentions big plans and exciting dreams for where he's seeing this go… For example somebody mentioned "KARMA…?" in the recent livestream, and J took it right up; he and Stephen Kay are "old friends" and have apparently already talked about K and U and the future. John's got deep connections in this realm; distribution by Ilio was mentioned, etc. I keep thinking VCV hosting would be a great way to add modulations… There's truly a sense of community around John's work and how he shares it, etc. A good brew:)

It doesn't make any sense to me to start tallying up feature lists, comparison shopping, and picking sides at this stage re Unify. We've all always got our ears to the ground about new plugins, DAW versions, and new computers/music/synths concepts, and for me this is simply a particularly fascinating current example, no doubt as much because I'm already a whatever-he's-doing fan of John's as because I can already picture Unify as currently described being personally useful. On the radar, watching closely—one of the best parts of this whole game, IMO!

Early days, indeed!

And just in case it needs clarifying again, while this product doesn't really interest me, I can see why it is of great interest to others. Also, nothing about that view is set-in-stone, either. John has eluded to a 'Pro' version, which might end up bridging the gap between what is on offer and what I am looking for. Certainly, if he goes down a more flexible patching/routing path, it would change things considerably.

Will keep an eye on it

[David]

Dropping back in here to report some personal experiences with the Unify beta, which is currently on its 3rd version (and featured in John's Livestream today).

FWIW:

It's working really well here, and it's strikingly fast to load/launch, plus it loads its own presets really fast, AND is so elegant and simple that just in terms of speed and ease of use, it actually leaves PatchWork in the dust, simply as a plugin host. Plus it's got a unique feature in the form of two parallel MIDI FX layers (currently offering Blue Arp, but which also load AU MIDI FX, most of which from my collection already work well), so you can send any or all other loaded Unify layers one of either MIDI FX stack, which AFAIK is unique amongst hosts, let alone being the only other app I know of that will even run AU MIDI FX besides Logic. Notably, AudioCR's fantastic MIDI FX Freeze is one that already works great. http://www.audiocr.com

In terms of speed, it's kinda working miracles. I just built a two layer patch with Absynth and OmniSphere, with Omni running a very slow to load Trilian sample instrument. When saved and then reloaded into a newly launched instance of Unify inside Logic, this preset loads a LOT faster than Omni itself can load the same instrument. I don’t know how that's even possible, but it sure makes Unify start to look very good JUST as a host. Plus it's allowing me FINALLY to run Ample's Martin (the full version, even in multiple layers) without the CPU problems that I've always had with it, in Logic especially, but also in other DAWs and inside Patchwork which til now had been my best workaround for using it at all.

Even without loading other plugins into Unify layers, the already included instruments and FX are definitely impressive. My fav instruments are the Unify sampler, already packed with a large collection gathered up from other PluginGuru Libraries, including all of the Attack samples from his Del Norte Kontakt library (really cool stuff, a la the D-50), and Dexed, with its many thousands of DX7 patches easily loaded. Check out the Livestream to hear what I mean. And that BlueArp is really sweet. I find it fascinating how much I've missed simply by basically ignoring all these free resources for years now in favor of expensive trendy new stuff that, really, doesn't sound a whole lot better, if at all. But all of which will also work inside Unify, some maybe better than elsewhere…seriously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO7CPuvWeWU

My most recent test: I just loaded a Unify layer with Voltage Modular and put Blue Arp on it, then loaded VM's host module with Unify hosting Dexed and saved the preset. Then I launched VCV Rack, loaded its Host module with Unify, then loaded my Unify-inside VM patch. All works great and sounds cool:)

[woodsdenis]

Skippy is one of the true gents of the plugin patch game and has given a huge amount of his time and effort into explaining how to get the best out of number of synths via his YT channel. More importantly he understands the process of using VSTI's from a user perspective and that is the key thing that makes Unify an exciting prospect.The included patches alone make it an excellent purchase, add on to that the hosting side of it make this an easy buy for me anyway.

[macmuse]

Is this released? I don't see it on the site...or are you beta testers?

[tony10000]

Is this released? I don't see it on the site...or are you beta testers?

It should be released very soon per his latest YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwM1C1yudig

[Buckster]

Whilst waiting for unify I bought ght one of the tasty bytes omnisphere packs the PADS one and it's ridiculous value for money. The patches sound superb there are loads of them and it was 10 dollars highly recommend

[Kinh]

Personally I think plugin guru put's too much randomization on his presents. A preset with randomizer on is pretty much useless

[trusampler]

Love this idea!! I'm not sure why more developers don't do this. Coming from a Workstation background, where saving multi's and Combi's was the norm for gigging, or tracking. Great stuff!

[trusampler]

How close is this to being released?